Navy officer released from Japanese prison booked into California federal prison

By Jake Tapper and Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — US Navy officer Lt. Ridge Alkonis, who was jailed in Japan for negligent driving that resulted in the death of two people, has been booked into a federal prison in Los Angeles following his transfer to the US, according to a family spokesperson and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

“We can confirm Ridge Alkonis is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Los Angeles,” a BOP spokesperson told CNN.

A family spokesperson, Jonathan Franks, said in a statement Thursday night that “Lt. Alkonis is now housed in a notorious federal lockup in Los Angeles,” adding that the Bureau of Prisons had informed them “it will take up to 90 days to approve [his wife] Brittany and the kids to visit him.”

“We believe the BOP can and should release Ridge immediately – it is outrageous he is spending the night in jail,” Franks said in the statement.

Asked by CNN when Alkonis’ family might be able to visit him, the BOP spokesperson said the bureau had nothing to add.

A source familiar with the situation told CNN on Friday that the prison warden put in special visitation memos for Alkonis’ family Thursday night. The family is cleared to visit and can do so earlier than visiting hours, the source said.

Earlier Thursday, the Alkonis family said in a statement that they were “encouraged” by the transfer. “After 507 days, Lt. Ridge Alkonis is on his way home to the United States. We are encouraged by Ridge’s transfer back to the United States but cannot celebrate until Ridge has been reunited with his family,” the statement said.

Two US officials confirmed earlier in the day that Alkonis was in US custody. One of those officials told CNN that he was remanded to US custody after direct engagement by Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and was being brought back to the US under an international prisoner convention that allows individuals to serve the remainder of their confinement in their home country.

After arriving in the US, the official said, Alkonis “will go before an entity called the US parole commission within the Department of Justice, which will consider his case and make a determination about further confinement.”

According to a Department of Justice official, the parole commission process could take several months. They will look at Alkonis’ prison sentence in Japan and determine what would have been done in the US, and then determine what his remaining punishment would be. He could end up in home custody, this official said.

“The Biden administration signaled to the Parole Commission that if they want to understand the complexity of the diplomacy, his military record, the fact that he was a model prisoner or anything else, we are available to do that as long as the Commission deems it appropriate,” they said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

Alkonis, who was stationed in Japan, was sentenced to three years in a Japanese prison in October 2021 for negligent driving resulting in the death of two people and injuries to a third person in May 2021. He said he suffered from acute mountain sickness as he was driving with his family from Mount Fuji, which caused him to lose consciousness. That argument was rejected by the court. His appeal was denied in July 2022.

Alkonis’ family argued he was ill, not negligent, and therefore committed no crime. They have also noted that they offered the victims’ families over $1 million in restitution, as is customary in Japan.

The Alkonis family had claimed that there have been violations of the status of forces agreement between the United States and Japan during the proceedings of the case.

The family pushed for him to be transferred back to the US under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which would allow him to serve out his sentence there.

Under the terms of the treaty, which Japan joined in 2003, “The prisoner, the Government of Japan and the U.S. government must all agree to the transfer,” according to the US Embassy in Japan. “Transfers can take 2 years or longer from the time the process begins,” it notes.

Twenty Republican senators wrote to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in August asking the Japanese government to consider expelling Alkonis as they made the case that the “full nature” of the situation had not been taken into consideration. They also noted that a Navy investigation concluded that Alkonis lost consciousness because of acute mountain sickness.

The family said they appreciated “the efforts of the U.S. Government to effect this transfer and are glad that an impartial set of judiciary eyes will review his case for the first time.”

“We trust that the DOJ will urgently wish to end this travesty of justice by immediately releasing Ridge, and we look forward to Ridge enjoying the holidays at home with his wife and children.”

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.

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